Plank or rail fence construction



Dec. 29, 1931. T, H, sYMlNGToN 1,838,643

PLANK 0R RAIL FENCE CONSTRUCTION Filed July 18, .1929

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THOMAS H. sYMINGToN, or BALTIMOREQMARYLAND, `Assieivon To T. n. sYMINeTo-N son, INC., or BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, A

Patented Dec. 29, 193,1

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- CORPORATION OF MARYLAND y.

:rLANK 0R RAIL-FENCE CONSTRUCTION applicati@ ieanuy 1s, i929. Aserial no, 379,227. Y

The invention relates to fences, particular ly Vto a plankor rail fence construction, and has for its principal object the provision of a novel fence embodying posts equipped with special means for supporting 'and holding in secured relation a plurality of -planks or bars,vit being a feature'that the planks or equivalent elements are maintained in uniformly spaced relation so that the fence will have a. neat and attractive appearance.

' Animportant object of the invention is to provide a fenceconstruction in which all of the planks, bars'or theirequivalent are individu'ally held against the posts sol that the fence will have greatV strength Vand be able to withstand quite a severe strain such as might result from an animal or vehiclerunning or jumping into it;Y s f f l Another object is to provide a fence embodying apluralityor series/of vertically spaced planks or bars with means forrsup# porting them individually so that in the event of breakage of an, upperl bar or plank, Vas

. might readily occur in huntingcountry, the

person causing the damage mayV be able to removea broken top rail or plank and replace it by one of the lower; ones so that the value of the fencein preventing escapeor straying ofthe cattle or thelike will be practically u ni impaired.

A specific object is to provide` azfence having apecuhar constructionof post andv retain- Ving means thereon particularly adapted for use 'at a gateway where socalledbars are ordinarily usedto bridge the space betweenthe `posts atoppo'site sides ofthe gateway or gap.`

, An additional object is to provide a fence which will. be simple and inexpensive to build, positive in action, efficient anddurable in service,1 anda general improvement inthe art. A, y To the attainment oftheoregoing and other objects and advantages, the invention preferably'consists inthe detailsof construction and *the` arrangement and Combination of parts to be hereinafter more fullyd'escribed and claimed, andillustrated inthe accompanying drawings, in which: Figure l is a perspective view of va fence constructed in accordance withthe invention,

"FigureQ'is a view ofone of the.v pcsts,

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partly in elevation and partly'insection, this Y View Valso showing a pair ofthe top rails Vor planks in cross section, Y Figure 3 is a top plan viewrof the post alone, y Figure 4 is a fragmentaryl perspective view illustrating the construction at agateway or gap, and f i VFigure 5 is a fragmentary vertical section through a post and cross section through 'the plank or rail and bar shown in Figure 4.

In carrying out my'invention' I provide posts l0 which must ofcourse be anchored' in the ground at suitable Vdistances apart and which are provided withv means forsupportingtherails or planks 1l ina manner to be described. Each post is heresshown' as Aan elongated body preferably constructed of concrete or cement reinforced in any desired manner asy for example by means of a plurality of longitudinally extending rods 12 arranged in any desired manner.` The length` ofthepost must of course depend toa certain extentV on ithe contemplated height of the vfence and itis equally clear that the inten#v `tion is" to embed a portion of they post within the ground. While it is not necessarythe post is shown/as slightly tapered, at least in vonriclimension -from the ground line to the upper end. 'Carriedby the post is a series of vertically spaced Ushaped brackets 13 which project beyond Voneface and which are held in place as-by embedding them within the post, Vthe ends being preferably laterally deiiected at 14V so as'to prevent accidental deta'chment.`A w

' vThe planks or 'rails 11 whichV extend from lpost'to postare preferablyv of the same length and may very Iconveniently, be rough or lfinished boards of any preferred dimensions, the common ordinary variety having a width of four tofsii inches and a thickness ofap# proximately seven-eighths inchbeingparvticw larly well suited for` the` purpose. fTh'ese planks or railsare arranged with theirends in slightly overlapping relation as'clearly indicated in Figure l' with these overlapping ends located within the confines of the brackets 13. Clearly, the individual planks or lin rails may be simply slid into place in an obvious manner and even without the provision of any further securing means the fence will be adequate for all ordinary purposes. However, in case it is desired to insure that there will be no displacement oftheplanks. or rails, as might fresult Vfrom an animal rubbing against the fence, use may be made of simple or ordinary staples arranged in straddling relationi toi theI upper arms of any.y or all ofE the bracketsl13 and pcnetratinglyA engaging' within the planks or rails as clearly shown in the drawings. It is very probably'unnecessary to use these staples at all.points,.it.beinggenerally suflicient to provide them in connection withthe upperirailor plank only or the up- ;per and-intermediate. l

Thefenre is assembled inthe. manner shown and described and it will benoted that-.it-will present a very neat and attractive appearance with pleasing lines that will not constitute a discordant nete,inlan'.otherwisegpleasinglandscape. A .distinct yfeature `of fadvantage =is that in the event of breakageioffatop rail,

.- asanightbeeausedbythe .jumping of a horse inahunting. country, .the :broken -rail :may be quickly and easily pulled out and replaced .byone taken :from the bottom Ipai-"trof the .fence so Athat there will be no lfresultant gap through which, cattle. or other animals imight escape. Owing .to the eXtreme simplicity 'of thesecuring means it is apparent that very little labor :would be requiredto effect tpermanentrepairs orreplacements.

lt is well known that it -isacommon practice. among rfa rmers, agriculturistsand-others to provide ,gateways-.or -gaps which are not provided :with regular gates but which Iare closed by .so-.called .bars `which bridge athe space .between the Eposts at .the opposite-side ofthe gateway or gap. In adapting .my invention Yto .takecareofthis feature or contingency, I .provide gposts `16 similar to sthe posts .10 and Ahaving similar reinforcingelements 1,7 therein. rlihere would Talso be .a series .of verticallyspaced substantially U- shapedbrackets 'l'fenibedded within and projectinglbeyond one .face of the'post with-their inner ends curved or deiiectedlat 19 `to -prevent withdrawal. }lewever,1there is fa point of diiference betweenthe brackets 18andthe a'bove described'brackets 13 and that .is ,that the :brackets 18 ihave their .arms .20 spaced ai :art -the ,proper distance lto Vreceiye .a vrail vor i.' ,plank lllbetweenthem .while at the same time the ,bight portion is formed with :an `offset and .constricted portionQl of-a size ,proper .to slidably `receive a so-called bart22. ln -case a gatewajr or ggap provided there would be one ofthe posts 1.6.5111 each side, the brackets `1:8.supportiag the ends ofthe planks or rails 11 which maybe secured by means `of staples 23 of .the Ysame character as the staples 1.5. Tfhe .desired or A,proper number of bars 22 are ,then `simply slipped inte the offset or constricted portions 21 of the brackets 18 so as to bridge the gap or gateway. Clearly whenever it is desired to open the gateway for any reason, one end of as many of the bars 22 as are provided would simply be slipped out of theconstrieted portionsl of .the brackets. It .willbe notedthat thegposts 'S16 iwith the brackets 18 thereon will harmonize perfectly with and have the same general appearance as `the ordinary posts E1D with f their brackets 13.

From the foregoing description and a study o'f the' dra-win gsitwill be apparent that I have thuslprovided a very simply constructed and Ainexpensive fencewhich will possess many features of advantage and superiority over ordinary constructions, particularlyin point 'of .-strength, .uniformity .and appearance Aas .well v-as .ready lreparability. rIt is thought that 'the construction, operation and ad- `vantages.should be .readilyapparent to one skilled in the art without furtherfexplana tion.

XVhile I :have .shown -and fdescribed the preferred embodiment of .the invention, it should .be `understood lthat the ldisclosure is merelyan exemplification ofthe principles involvedasthe vright reserved to .makeall suehchanges in .the .details of construction as .will widen thefiieldof utilityandincrease the: adaptability .of .the device :provided suoli `changes vconstitute no .departure .from .the spirit of the invention or thescope of .the claimshereunto.appended.

iHaving @thus `described .the invention, I claim.:

1. .In-afencmconstruction, a post comprising .a vertically Telongated body, .a .series lof .vertically .spaced `substantially U-shaped brackets secured lthereto Aand projecting beyond .one face thereof, planks having .their ends engaged within .and -secured with :respect `to `said brackets, veach .bracket .having .its .bight .portion formed .with yan oii'set or constricted portion, and bars slidably re ceived within said `constricted portions.

f2. lIna fence eonstruction,.a postlprovided with .a .substantially U-.shapedbracket projecting .beyond vone .face and .adapted to .receiveoneend .ofa rail,.the bracket being further .formed .with .retaining and .guide `means outwardly .of .the rail, and a bar removably engaged within said `retaining and yguide means.

r3. 'Inafence construction, a .post .provided with a substantially U-shaped bracket proliecting .beyond .one iface and adapted to receive oneend .of ahorizontally arranged rail. the ybracket .having .its bight portion formed with .an .offset .ofless width-thanthe `remainder 'of the bracket, a securing member straddling 4one .arm of the .bracket and lengaging the rail, and a bar slidably removably en# gaged within said 4offset portion.

4t. In .a fence construction, 'a ypost provided on one face With a series of substantially U-shaped brackets, a rail engaged Within each bracket, a secondvrail disposed Within each bracket with its end in overlapping relation to the end of the first named rail, a securing member straddling the upper arm of each bracket and penetratingly engaging with in the upper edge of the iirst named rail, said second named rail bein slidable and capable of removal Without isturbing the first named rail.

5. In a fence construction, a post provided on one face with a series of substantially U- shaped brackets, a rail engaged Within each bracket, a second rail disposed Within each bracket With its end in overlapping relation to the end of the first named rail, and securing members straddling the upper arms of certain of the brackets and penetratingly engaging Within the upper edges of certain of the rails. Y Y

In testimony whereof I aiix my signature.

THOMASY H. SYMINGTON. 

